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SEMATECH successful in removing 10nm particles from EUV mask blanks |
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Apr 12, 2007 at 12:34 PM |
 SEMATECH's Mask Blank Development Center (MBDC), within Albany's College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering (CNSE) has demonstrated the ability to locate and successfully remove defect particles as small as 10nm from EUV mask blanks. 10nm size particle removal is seen as the minimum requirement for EUV masks that could be used in a production environment at the 22nm node without impacting device yield.
"SEMATECH believes that the success of EUV depends on our ability to detect and remove particles as small as 10nm, which is at the extreme limit of our inspection capability," said Abbas Rastegar, Senior Member Technical Staff at the MBDC. "Our findings indicate that this degree of precision will be necessary for EUV to be successfully implemented for the 22nm technology generation."
The results were achieved using a Lasertec M7360 defect inspection tool, an atomic force microscope (AFM) for marking and measurement and Hamatech's ASC5500 cleaning tool.
However, Michael Lercel, SEMATECH's Lithography Director, noted that higher-resolution defect-inspection tools, combined with highly efficient cleaning techniques, are still needed for production environments and that work is now focused on these improvements.
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